𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬

CHAPTER 5

Lychee being adorable above.

súton

(n.) the end of something

It was just after midnight when Kiara and Vijay lugged their suitcases into the elevator. He was never a morning person, leaning against the elevator wall moodily as dark sunglasses covered his eyes. Looking at her reflection, she quickly smoothed out her hair and fixed her kurti*, making sure everything was in place. While he might not care about his appearance, the last thing she wanted was a wardrobe malfunction to be printed across the front pages of every newspaper. She struggled to drag her suitcase as they entered the lobby, smiling gratefully when Jimmy quickly stepped in and grabbed it from her.

As per usual, Vijay and Jimmy braved the storm of paparazzi as they placed all the suitcases into the car while Kiara handled checking out of the hotel. She watched the men worriedly, knowing Vijay was a ticking time bomb when faced with paparazzi in the morning. The last time paparazzi had accidentally gotten a little too comfortable, he grabbed the poor man's camera and flung it across the street before angrily shoving a few other paparazzi away as he swore at them. That incident circulated the internet for the following week and quite literally almost sent Nicole to an early grave.

Kiara personally thanked the hotel staff, having ensured she learned their names during her short stay, as Jimmy jogged back into the hotel to guide her out. She grabbed her shoulder bag and followed him, gripping onto the end of his shirt as she squinted against all the camera flashes. She laughed upon seeing Vijay's slumped form asleep in the car with his mouth wide open and settled in beside him, leaning over to buckle his seatbelt as they headed to the airport.

Finally arriving back to America, Kiara and Vijay barely said two words as they trudged to their respective homes eagerly looking forward to a long nap. They unlocked their doors before peering over the fence separating their houses to wave goodbye. It would be a long week of press tours and travelling for their much anticipated new series since the premier was set for next month. While she was excited to see how people would react to her Hollywood debut, she feared many fans would be disheartened or even angry at her. The backlash she received when the news of her 'new Hollywood project' emerged in the papers was terrifying as people began worrying that she wouldn't return to the Indian film industry. 

Kiara was dubbed the 'People's Actress' in India not only for her generous humanitarian ventures, but for her kind and approachable nature and as such, was loved and idolised all through India. This was her first time encountering such a negative response but it wasn't the hateful comments that upset her, it was the thought of disappointing those that believed in her. Everything she did was for her loved ones– and that included her fans, so when even one of her fans were saddened, it devastated her.

Kiara woke up a few hours later, popping a 'good morning' text to the cast group chat and smiling as everyone began rapidly texting back and forth. Jeffrey and Vijay always had the most hilarious arguments– this time being 'are hotdogs sandwiches?', but it served as great entertainment to start off her day. The first stop of the press tour was Hong Kong but their flight wasn't scheduled until later tonight so they had all day to rest and relax before preparing for work. It had been ages since she last returned home to Hong Kong so she was beyond excited to see her family again. Since Karan was a successful fashion designer and her father, Samuel, was one of the top corporate lawyers in Asia, their busy schedules worked perfectly with hers but that also meant there were very few times apart from holidays when everyone would be free to spend time together.